Automatic poker shuffling machine

ABSTRACT

An automatic poker shuffling machine includes a frame having a first container, a second container and a card chamber between the first container and the second container, an elevating device has a table in the card chamber, a card cutting device for sending the cards on the table to the first and second containers alternately, and a card shuffling device having first and second turning wheels on the bottoms of the first and the second containers to stack the cards alternately on the table again. The present invention further includes a plurality of sensors to sense the cards and control the corresponding elements action, and a collecting box to receive the shuffled cards.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates generally to a device for poker game and, more particularly, to an automatic poker shuffling machine.

2. Description of the Related Art

In poker game, it needs a shuffler to shuffle cards to random the cards for the game therefore players may have different cards in the games.

To shuffle the cards by shuffler is doubtful because a well-skill shuffler may cheat that the poker game becomes unfair, and players have less will to play it.

In some professional poker games, the whole deck of cards are destroyed after every game, and a brand new deck of cards are used in the next game to avoid the cheating problem. However, it needs a specific machine to destroy the cards, and it needs lots of decks of cards. It expenses high for such poker game, and, furthermore, it produces lots of dust and scraps of papers after the cards are destroyed. For the reason above, the present inventor, according to our experience in this field, creates the present invention.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The primary objective of the present invention is to provide an automatic poker shuffling machine, which may replace shuffler to shuffle cards and make a fair game for every player.

To achieve the objective of the present invention, an automatic poker shuffling machine includes a frame having a first container, a second container and a card chamber between the first container and the second container, wherein the first container has a first bore at a bottom thereof communicated with the card chamber, and the second container has a second bore at a bottom thereof communicated with the card chamber; an elevating device having a table, on which cards stack, received in the card chamber for vertical reciprocation; a card cutting device, which is provided on a top of the frame, having a poking board for transverse reciprocation, a first sensor, and a second sensor, wherein the poking board is driven for transverse reciprocation to send the cards to the first container and the second container respectively when the first sensor senses the cards on the table, and the card cutting device is stopped when the second sensor senses no card on the table; and a card shuffling device having at least a first turning wheel on the bottom of the first container and at least a second turning wheel on the bottom of the second container, wherein after the card cutting device is stopped, the first turning wheel and the second turning wheel start turning to send the cards in the first container and in the second container to the card chamber via the first bore and the second bore respectively, and stack the cards from the first container and from the second container alternately on the table.

Therefore, the present invention provides a machine to replace shuffler that may have the cards well shuffled and avoid the cheating problem. It doesn't needs to destroy the cards after every game to reduce the cost.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a front perspective view of the preferred embodiment of the present invention, wherein the case is taken off;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a back perspective view of the preferred embodiment of the present invention, wherein the case is taken off;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of FIG. 2;

FIG. 6 is a left front perspective view of the preferred embodiment of the present invention, wherein the case is taken off;

FIG. 7 is a front view of the cut slot of the poking board crossing table of the preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the pressing board and driving unit of the preferred embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 9 to FIG. 12 are sketch diagrams of the preferred embodiment of the present invention, showing how to shuffle the cards.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 8, an automatic poker shuffling machine 100 of the preferred embodiment of the present invention includes a frame 10, an elevating device 30, a card cutting device 40 and a card shuffling device 50.

The frame includes a card chamber A at a middle portion, in which a first container 11 and a second container 12 are provided. Between the first and second containers 11, 12, a first separating board 13 and a second separating board 14 are provided. The first and second containers 11, 12 have a first bore 11 and a second bore 121 at bottoms respectively to be communicated with the card chamber A that cards may pass through the first and second bores 111, 121. Two stop boards 15, 16 are pivoted on the frame 10 and above the containers. Each of the stop boards 15, 16 has a board face 151, 161 and an arched guiding block 152, 162. Take the stop board 15 for example, it may moved between a first position P1 (referring to FIG. 2) and a second position P2 (referring to FIG. 3). In the present embodiment, two pushing members 17, 18 are provided on the frame 10 for vertical reciprocation, and two driving members 19, 20 are provided on a bottom of the frame 10 that may move the stop boards 15, 16 respectively. Take the pushing member 17 and the driving member 19 for example, the driving member 19 includes a motor 191 and a turn pole 192. The turn pole 192 is swung by the motor 191 to move the pushing member 17 up and down. FIG. 2 and FIG. 5 show the pushing member 17 at an up position, in which a top end 171 of the pushing member 17 is against the arched guiding block 152 to have the board face 151 of the stop board 15 at a horizontal position that cards may stack thereon. FIG. 3 and FIG. 12 show the pushing member 17 at a down position, in which the arched guiding block 152 is turned to have the board face 151 of the stop board 15 at a vertical position that cards will drop to the associated container.

A first side wheel 21 and a second side wheel 22 are pivoted on the frame 10 at sides where the stop boards 15, 16 are adjacent to the card chamber A. A first stop plate 23 and a second stop plate 24 are connected to the first and second separating boards 13, 14 for vertical reciprocation relative to the separating boards respectively. Take the second stop plate 24 for example (referring to FIG. 5), the second stop plate 24 has a threaded hole 241 at an upper portion to screw a bolt 141 therein. The bolt 141 has a body portion 141 a inserted into the threaded hole 241, and a head portion 141 b being restricted for rotation only. The second stop plate 24 may be moved up and down by turning the bolt 141 clockwise or counterclockwise that may change the size of the second bore 121. The first stop plate 23, with the same structure, may be turned to change the size of the first bore 111.

A first scrap container 25 and a second scrap container 25 are provided in the frame 10 under the first and second containers 11, 12, and may be drawn out from the frame 10. Each scrap container is provided with a filter (labeled 251 in FIG. 1) at a back. Two fans 27 are provided on a back of the frame 10 to suck the paper scraps in the frame 10 to the first scrap container 25 and the second scrap container 25, and the paper scraps will be collected by the filters.

The frame 10 further includes a collecting box 29, which may be drawn out of the frame, to collect the cards in the card chamber A. User may insert or draw the collecting box 29 into or out of the frame to move the card between the shuffling machine of the present invention and other machines (such as dealing box).

The elevating device 30 includes a sliding base 31 on the back of the frame 10 for vertical reciprocation and a table 32 on the sliding base 31 extending into the card chamber A. Therefore, the table may vertically move in the card chamber A. A worm (not shown) and a motor (not shown) are provided to reciprocate the sliding base 31. In addition, cards stack on the table 32, on which a cutting slot 321 and a sensor board 322 are provided (they will be described in following paragraphs).

As shown in FIG. 5, the card cutting device 40, which is mounted on a top of the frame 10, includes a poking board 41 for transverse movement, a first sensor 42, a second sensor 43, and a third sensor 44, wherein:

The first sensor 42 is provided on the back of the frame 41 to sense whether there is card on the table 32. If do, the first sensor 42 transmits a signal to a circuit board (not shown) and an output signal to control the poking transversally reciprocating to send the cards into the first container 11 and the second container 12 alternately. As shown in FIG. 10 and FIG. 11, when the poking board 41 reciprocates once, the stop boards 15, 16 above the first and second containers 11, 12 will be moved to the second position P2 from the first position P1, and return to the first position P1 immediately.

The second sensor 43 is provided on the table 32. When the second sensor 43 doesn't sense any card on the table 32, it sends a signal to stop the card cutting device.

The third sensor 44 is provided at a bottom of the poking board 41 to sense whether there is card not totally entering the first container 11 or the second container 12, as shown in FIG. 11. If do, it sends a signal to control the first side wheel 21 and the second side wheel 22 turning reversely to move the sensed card back to the card chamber A. as shown in FIG. 7, the cutting slot 321 of the table 32 is designed for the poking board 41 moving therein to send all of the cards to the first container 11 or the second container 12.

The card shuffling device 50 includes two first turning wheels 51 in the first container 11 and two second turning wheels 32 in the second container 12. The first bore 111 is formed between the first wheels 51 and the first separating board 13, and the second bore 121 is form between the second wheels 52 and the second separating board 14. The first turning wheel 51 and the second turning wheel 52 are driven for turning to send the cards in the first container 11 and the second container 12 to the card chamber A via the first bore 111 and the second bore 121 respectively, and then stacked on the table 32.

The card shuffling device further includes a fourth sensor under the first and second bores 111, 121. When the card device 40 completes the cutting step, the table 32 of the elevating device 30 will move downward immediately and is sensed by the fourth sensor 53 to stop the table 32 for stacking the cards thereon.

The card shuffling device 50 further includes two fifth sensors 54 in the first container 11 and the second container 12 respectively. The fifth sensors may sense whether the first container 11 and the second container 12 are empty. If do, it sends a signal to top the first or second turning wheel 51, 52.

To avoid cards jammed at the first bore 111 and the second bore 121, the card shuffling device 50 of present embodiment is provided with two sixth sensors 55 at the exits of the first bore 111 and the second bore 121 respectively to sense the jammed card. If do, it sends a signal to control the turning wheel keeping turning until no card is sensed by the sixth sensors 55.

The card shuffling device 50 further includes a pressing board 56 and a driving unit 57 on the frame 10. The driving unit 57 includes a transmission set 571, a motor 572, and a sensor 573. The sensor 573 may sense protrusions on a disk 571 a on a bottom of the transmission set 571 to drive the motor 472 turning the transmission set 571 having bevel gears that will move the pressing board 56 between a down position P3 and an up position P4. The pressing board 56 will press the shuffling cards when it moves to the down position P3 that will help ordering the cards.

Above are the elements and the relationship therebetween of the automatic poker shuffling machine 100 of the present invention. The following is the operation of shuffling of the present invention:

As shown in FIGS. 1, and 9-12, user puts cards in the collecting box 29, and then inserts the collecting box 29 into the card chamber A of the frame 10, and now user may start the machine 100. After the machine started, the sliding seat 31 of the elevating device 30 will move the table upwards to take the cards in the collecting box 29. When the table 32 is elevated and is sensed by the first sensor 42 (referring to FIG. 9), the worm of the elevating device 30 is turned for random rounds to have the card stack higher than the first sensor 42 a predetermined distance. This distance affects the poking board 41 cutting the cards at a very position. Because the worm is controlled by random, the poking board 41 will cut the cards at different positions in every shuffling step. After the poking 41 had moved left and right once to send cards to the first container 11 and the second container 12, the stop boards 15, 16 above the first and second containers 11, 12 are moved to the second position P2 from the first position P1, and return to the first position P1 immediately that the cards will drop to the first and second containers 11, 12 from the stop boards 15, 16 respectively. In the following, the poking board 41 and the stop boards 15, 16 repeat aforesaid step unit the second sensor 43 senses that no card on the table 32 and the card cutting device 40 is stopped. Of course, the stop boards 15, 16 may move to the second position P2 from the first position P1 once after the cutting step is completed for the following shuffling step. It has to be mentioned here that if there is a card P not entering the second container 12 (referring to FIG. 11), the third sensor 44 will senses the jammed card P and controls the second side wheel turning reversely to move the card P back to the card chamber A, waiting for the next cutting step.

When there is no card on the table 32, the table will be moved downwards automatically to be sensed by the fourth sensor 53 and stops. As shown in FIG. 4, in this time, the pressing board 56 is switched to the down position P3, and the first turning wheels 51 and the second turning wheels 52 start turning to send the card in the first and second containers 11, 12 to the card chamber A, and stack the cards from the first and second containers 11, 12 alternately on the table 32. The pressing board 56 has two opposite inclined edges that have function of guiding the cards. In the same time, the table 32 is controlled to vibrate up and down slightly to order the cards. When the fifth sensors 54 sense no card in the first and the second container 11, 12, it will stop the shuffling step. If there is card jammed at the first bore 111 or the second bore 121, the sixth sensor 55 will control the first or the second turning wheel 51 or 52 keeping turning until all cards enter the card chamber A and stop the shuffling step.

In conclusion, the present invention provides the automatic poker shuffling machine to replace shuffler that may have the cards well shuffled and avoid the cheating problem. It doesn't needs to destroy the cards after every game to reduce the cost.

Although a particular embodiment of the invention has been described in detail for purposes of illustration, various modifications and enhancements may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, the invention is not to be limited except as by the appended claims. 

1. An automatic poker shuffling machine, comprising: a frame having a first container, a second container and a card chamber between the first container and the second container, wherein the first container has a first bore at a bottom thereof communicated with the card chamber, and the second container has a second bore at a bottom thereof communicated with the card chamber; an elevating device having a table, on which cards stack, received in the card chamber for vertical reciprocation; a card cutting device, which is provided on a top of the frame, having a poking board for transverse reciprocation, a first sensor, and a second sensor, wherein the poking board is driven for transverse reciprocation to send the cards to the first container and the second container respectively when the first sensor senses the cards on the table, and the card cutting device is stopped when the second sensor senses no card on the table; and a card shuffling device having at least a first turning wheel on the bottom of the first container and at least a second turning wheel on the bottom of the second container, wherein after the card cutting device is stopped, the first turning wheel and the second turning wheel start turning to send the cards in the first container and in the second container to the card chamber via the first bore and the second bore respectively, and stack the cards from the first container and from the second container alternately on the table; wherein the frame is provided with two stop boards respectively disposed above the first container and the second container to be moved between a first position, in which the stop boards carry the cards from the cutting device thereon, and a second position, in which the cards on the stop boards drop to the first container and the second container, respectively; wherein the frame further includes a first side wheel and a second side wheel on the stop board at a side adjacent to the card chamber, a third sensor on a bottom of the poking board to control rotation of the first side wheel and the second side wheel for sending a sensed card back to the card chamber when the third sensor senses cards thereunder not totally entering the stop boards above the first container and the second container.
 2. (canceled)
 3. The automatic poker shuffling machine as claimed in claim 1, wherein after the poking board has completed the reciprocation once, the stop boards rapidly move to the second position from the first position, and return to the first position immediately.
 4. The automatic poker shuffling machine as claimed in claim 3, wherein the stop boards are pivoted on the frame, each of which has a board face to carry the cards, an arched guiding block on an end, two pushing member on the frame out of the containers for vertical reciprocation, and two driving members moving the pushing members when the poking board of the card cutting device completes the reciprocation once and sends signals to the driving members, and further wherein when the pushing members are moved upwards and against the arched guiding blocks, the board faces of the stop boards are horizontal to carry the cards, and when the pushing members are moved downwards to turn the arched guiding blocks, the board faces of the stop boards are vertical to drop the cards thereon.
 5. (canceled)
 6. The automatic poker shuffling machine as claimed in claim 1, wherein the frame has a first separating board between the card chamber and the first container, wherein the first bore is formed between a bottom edge of the first separating board and the first turning wheel, a second board between the card chamber and the second container, wherein the second bore is formed between a bottom edge of the second separating board and the second turning wheel, and at least a stop plate, which is connected to one of the separating boards, to be adjusted for vertical movement to change sizes of the bores that the cards pass.
 7. The automatic poker shuffling machine as claimed in claim 6, wherein the stop plate has a first stop plate and a second stop plate, which the first stop plate is provided on the first separating board and above the first turning wheel, and the second stop plate is provided on the second separating board and above the second turning wheel.
 8. (canceled)
 9. The automatic poker shuffling machine as claimed in claim 1, wherein the card shuffling device further includes a fourth sensor on the frame to stop the table at a position under the first bore and the second bore when the card cutting device completes a cutting step and the table of the elevating device is moved downwards and sensed by the fourth sensor.
 10. The automatic poker shuffling machine as claimed in claim 9, further comprising two fifth sensors on the bottoms of the first container and the second container, wherein the first turning wheel or the second turning wheel is stopped running when the fifth sensors sense no card in the first container or in the second container.
 11. The automatic poker shuffling machine as claimed in claim 10, further comprising a collecting box to collect the cards stacked on the table, wherein the collecting box is detachably mounted on the frame.
 12. The automatic poker shuffling machine as claimed in claim 11, further comprising two sixth sensors on the frame to sense the card in the first bore and in the second bore, wherein the card shuffling device is stopped when the sixth sensors sense no card in the first bore and in the second bore.
 13. The automatic poker shuffling machine as claimed in claim 1, wherein the elevating device has a cutting slot on the table to have the poking board moving in the cutting slot, whereby all cards on the table may be sent to the first container and the second container by the poking board.
 14. An automatic poker shuffling machine, comprising: a frame having a first container, a second container and a card chamber between the first container and the second container, wherein the first container has a first bore at a bottom thereof communicated with the card chamber, and the second container has a second bore at a bottom thereof communicated with the card chamber; an elevating device having a table, on which cards stack, received in the card chamber for vertical reciprocation; a card cutting device, which is provided on a top of the frame, having a poking board for transverse reciprocation, a first sensor, and a second sensor, wherein the poking board is driven for transverse reciprocation to send the cards to the first container and the second container respectively when the first sensor senses the cards on the table, and the card cutting device is stopped when the second sensor senses no card on the table; and a card shuffling device having at least a first turning wheel on the bottom of the first container and at least a second turning wheel on the bottom of the second container, wherein after the card cutting device is stopped, the first turning wheel and the second turning wheel start turning to send the cards in the first container and in the second container to the card chamber via the first bore and the second bore respectively, and stack the cards from the first container and from the second container alternately on the table; wherein the frame includes a first scrap container under the first container and near the first bore, a second scrap container under the second container and near the second bore, and at least a fan at a back of the frame to suck paper scraps in the frame to the first scrap container and the second scrap container via the first bore and the second bore.
 15. The automatic poker shuffling machine as claimed in claim 14, wherein the first scrap container and the second scrap container are detachably mounted on the frame respectively.
 16. The automatic poker shuffling machine as claimed in claim 15, wherein the first scrap container and the second scrap container are provided with a filter at backs thereof respectively to collect the paper scraps in the first scrap container and the second scrap container.
 17. The automatic poker shuffling machine as claimed in claim 1, wherein the card shuffling device includes a pressing board and a driving unit to move the pressing board between a down position, in which the pressing board is in the card chamber of the frame to guide the cards from the first bore and the second bore to the card chamber, and an up position.
 18. An automatic poker shuffling machine, comprising: a frame having a first container, a second container and a card chamber between the first container and the second container, wherein the first container has a first bore at a bottom thereof communicated with the card chamber, and the second container has a second bore at a bottom thereof communicated with the card chamber; an elevating device having a table, on which cards stack, received in the card chamber for vertical reciprocation; a card cutting device, which is provided on a top of the frame, having a poking board for transverse reciprocation, a first sensor, and a second sensor, wherein the poking board is driven for transverse reciprocation to send the cards to the first container and the second container respectively when the first sensor senses the cards on the table, and the card cutting device is stopped when the second sensor senses no card on the table; and a card shuffling device having at least a first turning wheel on the bottom of the first container and at least a second turning wheel on the bottom of the second container, wherein after the card cutting device is stopped, the first turning wheel and the second turning wheel start turning to send the cards in the first container and in the second container to the card chamber via the first bore and the second bore respectively, and stack the cards from the first container and from the second container alternately on the table, wherein the table is controlled to vibrate up and down slightly to order the cards at the same time.
 19. The automatic poker shuffling machine as claimed in claim 18, wherein the card shuffling device includes a pressing board and a driving unit to move the pressing board between a down position, in which the pressing board is in the card chamber of the frame to guide the cards from the first bore and the second bore to the card chamber, and an up position. 